The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun

Page 409

"I heard the emperor summoned a commoner?"

Zhu Houzhao laughed.

"The Empress Dowager is indeed well-informed."

Empress Dowager Zhang ignored the sarcasm in Zhu Houzhao's tone and said with a stern face, "What's so special about seeing a commoner?"

"This is my son's private matter."

Zhu Houzhao said with a smile.

"The imperial family has no private matters!"

Empress Dowager Zhang said in a heavy tone, and then continued, "You are the emperor, and the fate of the Ming Dynasty is at stake. We cannot act entirely as you please. You even allowed that commoner to bring a sword into the palace. What if he harbors ill intentions towards you?"

Zhu Houzhao laughed: "Mother, you are overthinking it. With his skills, if he wanted to kill me, it would make no difference whether he had a sword or not. If he really wanted to kill me, he could just rush into the palace, kill me, and then leave."

"nonsense!"

Empress Dowager Zhang made a remark.

"Do you think all those guards in the palace are just for show?"

Zhu Houzhao smiled but remained silent.

Empress Dowager Zhang took it as a sign of her backing down and said in a more serious tone, "No matter what, you are the emperor. You shouldn't associate with these commoners. What will the ministers in the court think of you? What you should do now is focus on state affairs and listen to the ministers in the court. Only in this way can you become a wise ruler."

Zhu Houzhao just smiled and didn't say anything.

Seeing his reaction, Empress Dowager Zhang did not continue the conversation and instead brought up another topic.

"Has the murderer of the Marquis of Jianchang been identified so far?"

Marquis Jianchang was Zhang Yanling.

Zhu Houzhao shook his head: "No."

"No?"

Empress Dowager Zhang raised an eyebrow. "It's been two years already, and they still haven't found out who the murderer is? What are the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard doing?"

Zhu Houzhao said, "When Marquis Jianchang died, he died in his own manor. His body was burned to a crisp, and the murderer left no trace. There was no way to investigate."

After Zhang Yanling was killed in Jiangning, a huge commotion broke out in the capital. Many agents from the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot were investigating, causing a sensation throughout the city. However, in the end, they found nothing and could not find out who the murderer was, making it a cold case.

When Zhu Houzhao mentioned that Zhang Yanling had been burned to a crisp, Empress Dowager Zhang couldn't help but shed tears.

"I don't know who has such a deep hatred for Yanling that they would burn him alive."

Zhu Houzhao comforted her, saying, "Mother, don't be too sad. It was expected that the Marquis of Jianchang would meet such an end. He usually oppressed the people, seized their fertile land, and forcibly took women from the people. The people had long harbored deep resentment towards him."

"He was still your uncle, no matter what. Aren't you even a little sad that he's dead?"

Empress Dowager Zhang was angry.

Zhu Houzhao said, "It's not that your son isn't heartbroken, but that the Marquis of Jianchang has committed many evil deeds..."

"Fine! I don't want to hear anymore, get out!"

Empress Dowager Zhang grew increasingly angry as she listened, and eventually refused to listen any longer, ordering Zhu Houzhao to leave.

Zhu Houzhao got up to leave, but Empress Dowager Zhang spoke again before he left.

“Your uncle, the Marquis of Shouning, has recently built a large new mansion and is short of craftsmen and money. When can you do this for him?”

Zhu Houzhao frowned: "What does his lack of money have to do with me?"

"You're his nephew, shouldn't you help him out?"

Zhu Houzhao said directly, "The court has no money to give him, nor are there any craftsmen to transfer."

"Then let's send the army over to build it."

"The army is for fighting wars, why are you sending them to build houses?"

"Is there anything wrong with it? Wasn't it the same when your father was alive?"

"I……"

"Okay, this matter is settled."

Zhu Houzhao was furious at the sight of Empress Dowager Zhang's domineering attitude, but he was helpless.

No matter what, she was his mother, and legally, she was the Empress Dowager. He really couldn't do anything about Empress Dowager Zhang.

The longer Zhu Houzhao remained in this position, the more he understood the pressure that Emperor Hongzhi had faced, especially when Empress Dowager Zhou was still alive. Facing his grandmother, who controlled the harem, Emperor Hongzhi had no power to resist. Fortunately, Empress Dowager Zhou had passed away in the seventeenth year of Hongzhi's reign; otherwise, he might have been oppressed just like his father.

"Your son will not disturb Mother any longer."

Zhu Houzhao said something and then turned to leave.

This time, Empress Dowager Zhang didn't even respond; she closed her eyes as if she hadn't heard anything.

The mother and son parted on bad terms once again.

Chapter 551: On Fu (a type of Chinese prose-poem)

……

Liu Jin escorted Jiang Ning out of the palace, being extremely attentive along the way. If it weren't for the servant sent by Chen Qingyuan waiting for Jiang Ning, he would have taken her directly back to Chen Qingyuan's residence.

By the time Jiang Ning returned to the Chen residence, it was already dark. Linghu Chong had been waiting for quite some time. Chen Qingyuan was still at the Ministry of Revenue, where affairs were extremely busy, and he often didn't return until very late.

After learning that Jiang Ning had returned, Linghu Chong went to find him.

"Junior brother, why have you been gone for so long?"

Linghu Chong wasn't worried about Jiang Ning being in danger; he was just curious.

"Who exactly is your friend? Why are you being so mysterious? I asked Minister Chen, but he wouldn't tell me. Is your friend someone special?"

Jiang Ning smiled and said, "It is indeed a bit special."

Linghu Chong asked in surprise, "Could he be some prince or nobleman?"

"It's a little higher than this."

Linghu Chong paused for a moment, then didn't ask any further questions.

How long do you plan to stay in the capital?

Jiang Ning said, "It should only take a few days."

Linghu Chong nodded, then winked at Jiang Ning and chuckled.

Jiang Ning was puzzled: "What's wrong?"

Linghu Chong smiled mysteriously: "While you were away, Miss Chen kept asking me about you."

Jiang Ning paused for a moment, then chuckled, shook his head, and left.

The next day.

Zhu Houzhao sent someone to invite Jiang Ning again, and the person sent was Liu Jin once more.

Liu Jin was just as attentive to Jiang Ning as he was yesterday, even more so than yesterday, his face beaming with joy.

However, Jiang Ning did not enter the palace this time, but stayed in a courtyard outside the palace.

"Brother Jiang, please have a seat."

Zhu Houzhao was sitting in the courtyard when he saw Jiang Ning arrive. He warmly invited Jiang Ning to sit down.

Jiang Ning was puzzled as to why Zhu Houzhao was meeting him here. Before he could ask, Zhu Houzhao said, "Brother Jiang, there are many eyes in the palace, so it's not convenient to meet here."

Listening to Zhu Houzhao's words, Jiang Ning thought of what had happened before he left yesterday, and he already had the answer in his heart. He nodded.

After he sat down, Zhu Houzhao began to talk impatiently about what he wanted to do in the future.

Since their conversation yesterday, Zhu Houzhao has regarded Jiang Ning as a close friend and a like-minded fellow traveler. Therefore, when he met Jiang Ning, he couldn't help but talk about his ambitions.

"Brother Jiang, I'm preparing..."

Zhu Houzhao wanted to reinstate the ancestral system left by Zhu Yuanzhang, putting shackles back on the necks of Ming Dynasty officials. Officials who embezzled more than sixty taels of silver would be skinned alive. In addition, Zhu Houzhao also wanted to implement an inspection system, which was tantamount to taking the lives of these civil officials who had become lazy and corrupt during the Hongzhi reign. Moreover, Zhu Houzhao reorganized the military camp and took military power back from the civil official group.

As Jiang Ning listened to Zhu Houzhao's words, Jiang Ning couldn't help but frown.

Political struggles have always been the most dangerous. In addition to open and covert power struggles, one must also guard against assassinations from all sides. Zhu Houzhao has only been on the throne for a short time, so it is very difficult for him to do these things. The best outcome for him is to become a puppet, and he will most likely drown one day.

Jiang Ning then gave Zhu Houzhao a few words of advice.

"I know."

Zhu Houzhao nodded.

He knew that doing these things was dangerous and he understood how much resistance there would be, so he was very cautious. He planned to take back military power first and then proceed slowly.

After Zhu Houzhao finished explaining his ideas, he began to discuss with Jiang Ning, focusing on issues related to the system.

Now that he knew Zhu Houzhao's ideals and ideas, Jiang Ning shared some of his thoughts.

With each word Jiang Ning spoke, Zhu Houzhao's eyes shone even brighter.

"Indeed, what Brother Jiang said coincides with what I said."

Zhu Houzhao said.

"In fact, I have long known that the people of my Great Ming Dynasty are no longer able to bear the taxes, and that a thorough reform is necessary to revitalize the Great Ming Dynasty."

Jiang Ning was referring to issues related to taxation.

Over the years, he had traveled to many places and naturally knew that the people were bearing taxes they should not have to bear. Their land was being plundered and acquired by officials and gentry, but the taxes were not reduced at all, and there were even various miscellaneous taxes. Their land had to support the entire official and gentry group of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, Jiang Ning proposed to reform the tax system.

In fact, Zhu Houzhao already had a rough idea of ​​what Jiang Ning was talking about, but after Jiang Ning explained it, Zhu Houzhao's idea was gradually refined.

Zhu Houzhao was very excited. He was excited that Jiang Ning thought the same way as him, but he was even more surprised that Jiang Ning, a man of the martial arts world, had such vision and perspective.

In fact, Jiang Ning didn't say much today, only briefly mentioning some tax-related issues, but it was enough to astonish Zhu Houzhao.

Jiang Ning and Zhu Houzhao then talked for a while longer. By then it was noon, but Zhu Houzhao still showed no intention of returning to the palace. Instead, he looked at Jiang Ning with a serious expression.

"Brother Jiang, can I do what you did yesterday?"

Jiang Ning asked in surprise, "Which one?"

Zhu Houzhao's eyes were bright, and he was gesturing with his hands.

"It's like what you did yesterday, you just swung your sword once and a white light shot out with incredible power! What is that? I want to learn!"

Jiang Ning tentatively asked, "Sword energy?"

Zhu Houzhao nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, I want to learn that!"

Jiang Ning couldn't help but laugh.

"That might be a bit difficult."

Zhu Houzhao frowned upon hearing this: "How difficult is it?"

Jiang Ning briefly explained that sword energy requires internal force to be released, and that ordinary sword energy is not that powerful.

Zhu Houzhao listened with a solemn expression, then asked a question: "Brother Jiang, if I start practicing now, when do you think I can reach your level?"

Jiang Ning laughed and said, "It should be several decades."

Upon hearing that it would take decades to train, Zhu Houzhao looked disappointed, but he did not give up. He said, "Brother Jiang, since your martial arts are so high, I would like to learn your martial arts to strengthen my body. Could you teach me some?"

Jiang Ning nodded: "It's no problem for improving physical fitness."

Upon receiving the promise, Zhu Houzhao finally smiled, his face beaming with excitement.

Zhu Houzhao was impatient and couldn't wait to learn martial arts. Jiang Ning was not surprised and taught him some basic body-training martial arts of the Huashan School. By the time Zhu Houzhao finished learning, it was already afternoon.

"Brother Jiang, the martial arts you taught me are indeed much more unique. Actually, I also looked for some books in the palace, but they were not very good. The ones you taught me are much better."

Zhu Houzhao said excitedly.

Jiang Ning smiled but didn't say anything, though he was indeed a little surprised.

Although Zhu Houzhao was past the age of practicing martial arts, it was clear that he had a decent foundation. He could complete a set of Huashan basic body-strengthening exercises without getting tired, which meant that he had a foundation in martial arts. However, that was all; he was unlikely to become a master, but he could certainly improve his physical fitness.

Zhu Houzhao looked at Jiang Ning with excitement and said, "Brother Jiang, since you have taught me martial arts, shall I become your disciple?"

Jiang Ning was surprised, then shook his head.